How To Optimize For Same Word, Different Spelling
-
Hi all.
Just wondering what peoples stance is on using multiple variations of keywords on a webpage - those keywords that have the same meaning and search intent, but are just spelt differently.
i.e. 'woodscrews' and 'wood screws' (the latter has a significantly higher search volume)
You could approach the webpage in 4 different ways;
1. Use ONLY 'wood screws' on-page, and in the page <title><br />2. Use ONLY 'woodscrews' on-page, and in the page <title><br />3. Use BOTH 'wood screws' and 'woodscrews' on-page, and BOTH in the page <title><br />4. Use BOTH 'wood screws' and 'woodscrews' on-page, but ONLY one variation in the page <title></p> <p>We've run some tests in the past but there were never any clear takeaways, a mixed bag of results really.</p> <p>Also, If they are considered the same keyword by Google why are the ranking positions always different for each variation?</p> <p>I'm not sure there' a specific answer to this, just interested to hear peoples thoughts really.</p> <p>Many thanks in advance!</p> <p>Lee.</p></title>
-
Many thanks, Donna.
I'm seeing things completely different to you. Screwfix does use both variations on-page (METAs and content). They also rank #1 for both variations.
Strange! I am searching from the UK, but the ranking Screwfix pages should be the same regardless.
Lee
-
You will rank for both, once your site has earned enough authority on the topic. Google appears to be interpreting the terms as synonymous. You're likely seeing variations cause they (Google) are perpetually testing.
If I search for "woodscrews" today, only one page 1 search result (Screwfix) uses "woodscrews" in their title tag and on-page content. The nine others do NOT and yet still manage to rank on page 1 for the term.
You may see different results, but my point is, it may be less of a conundrum than you think. If you want to try to rank for both variations, you're going to have to out-optimize all competitors, including the 1 (Screwfix) that does manage to rank for a different spelling of the term. Screwfix has not used the spaced version of the term (wood screws) even once on the page. When you take into consideration EGOL's points, that may be a problem for you.
Also of note, Screwfix does NOT rank on page 1 for "wood screws" (with the space). So they really have traded off one for the other.
-
Fair commments, Egol.. I can certainly see the logic.
The problem is that people use both variants.. so we want to rank for both!
It’s a conundrum
-
For me, there are two issues.
A) If one of the variants is incorrect or ignorant then my visitors will see it. This is a concern of people who run formal or academic sites. Some people might not link to me If I don't know how to spell some of the most commonly used words on my site.
B) Incorrect or ignorant usage could be a slight deduction from Google.
-
Many thanks, Egol.
Do you think that using both variants on page would cause any issues?
All the best.
Lee
-
I usually go to Google.com and do a few searches. That usually reveals what variants of the query are being used by people in their content and how Google will respond to the different variants.
In the case of "woodscrews"... Google says....
**About 3,990,000 results (0.54 seconds) **
Did you mean: wood screws
Now, I know what most vendors are using and see that Google will offer "wood screws" as the preferred variant. So, I would write all of my content using that variant. I usually agree with Google's preferred variant from my personal experience. However, if their preferred variant was an incorrect usage or an ignorant usage, then I will think about how that would fit into my website. But, since my websites are written in a formal context, I almost always go with proper, formal language.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Meta-description issue in SERPs for different countries
I'm working with a US client on the SEO for their large ecommerce website, I'm working on it from the UK. We've now optimised several of the pages including updating the meta-descriptions etc. The problem is when I search on the keyword iin the UK I see the new updated version of the meta-description in SERPs results. BUT when my client searches on the same keyword in the US they're see the old version of the meta-description. Does any one have any idea why this is happening and how we can resolve it? Thanks Tanya
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | TanyaKorteling0 -
HREF LANG: Different navigation/structure per country: is that a problem?
Hi all, One question about the href lang tag. Our webshop sells to 4 different countries (the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium & Spain). The navigation is a little bit different for these countries, depending on how popular certain product categories are in certain countries. So, for example: Netherlands --> Category A and B are in the top navigation
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | AMAGARD
Germany --> Category B is a subcategory of product A. We want to implement the Hreflang tag, would it be a problem that the navigation/site structure (and therefore the URL structure for certain categories) are a bit different? So: The url for category B in the Netherlands is: https://www.website.com/nl/category-B/
The url for category B in Germany is: https://www.website.com/de/category-A/category-B/ Thanks in advance! Best!0 -
Similar content, targeting different states
I have read many answers regarding not having duplicated pages target different states (cities). Here is the problem. We have same content that will serve different pages in some provinces in Canada that we can't change allot intentionally. We don't want these pages compete within the same province. What would be the best approach not to get penalized and keep SERP? Initially we though about hreflang, but we can't really do it on the provice/state attributes. Thanks in advance!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MSaffou20180 -
Does Google read bullet point lists are text? WordPress SEO by Yoast says different...
I am using the WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast. They have a site analysis, once you enter a keyword for optimize it for. Now I found that this plugin doesn't count in the text from bullet point (or numbered lists) as text. Now that made me curios...Does Google see bullet points text as text or not?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | soralsokal0 -
Duplicate content via dynamic URLs where difference is only parameter order?
I have a question about the order of parameters in an URL versus duplicate content issues. The URLs would be identical if the parameter order was the same. E.g.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | anthematic
www.example.com/page.php?color=red&size=large&gender=male versus
www.example.com/page.php?gender=male&size=large&color=red How smart is Google at consolidating these, and do these consolidated pages incur any penalty (is their combined “weight” equal to their individual selves)? Does Google really see these two pages as DISTINCT, or does it recognize that they are the same because they have the exact same parameters? Is this worth fixing in or does it have a trivial impact? If we have to fix it and can't change our CMS, should we set a preferred, canonical order for these URLs or 301 redirect from one version to the other? Thanks a million!0 -
Should I 301 Poorly Worded URL's which are indexed and driving traffic
Hi, I'm working on our sites structure and SEO at present and wondering when the benefit I may get from a well written URL, i.e ourDomain / keyword or keyphrase .html would be preferable to the downturn in traffic i may witness by 301 redirecting an existing, not as well structured, but indexed URL. We have a number of odd looking URL's i.e ourDomain / ourDomain_keyword_92.html alongside some others that will have a keyword followed by 20 underscores in a long line... My concern is although i would like to have a keyword or key phrase sitting on its own in a well targeted URL string I don't want to mess to much with pages that are driving say 2% or 3% of our traffic just because my OCD has kicked in.... Some further advice on strategies i could utilise would be great. My current thinking is that if a page is performing well then i should leave the URL alone. Then if I'm not 100% happy with the keyword or phrase it is targeting I could build another page to handle the new keyword / phrase with the aim of that moving up the rankings and eventually taking over from where the other page left off. Any advice is much appreciated, Guy
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | guycampbell0 -
Should I Host New Blog On Different Server?
I am planning on starting a new blog focused on a very specific subject that is related to my current Lead Generation website. I am doing this because I want to build rankings for this site and have it link back to my Lead Generation website to increase its rankings (this is the main purpose). My question is do I need to host it on another server so Google will not see it as having the same IP or Subnet? Note: I already have one blog linked to my Lead Generation website under the same domain. This new blog would be linked to an entirely different domain.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MyNet0 -
Does anyone have any tips for optimizing your Google Product Feeds?
How often do you submit them? What have you seen work? Are there any tricks aside from filling out all of the data fields?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | eric_since1910.com1